Part 2: An entire day at Gokul-Raval

The next morning as I opened my eyes, I was surprised to see that despite the cold weather of Vrindavan, my wife even had her shower and was ready by 6 AM. We had the plan to visit Gokul-Raval, two small villages of Brijbhumi which were associated with the childhood memories of Sri Krishna and Radharani.

Journey from Vrindavan to Gokul

Finally, we left hotel at 8AM and picked up our guide, Prabhuji (as they use the term to show respect at ISKCON) from temple gate. Soon we were driving through 4 lane National Highway. Within 1 hour, we were crossing river Yamuna. The first glimpse of Yamuna ji made us feel blissful.

Raman Reti

Our first stop was Raman Reti. As we off-boarded the car, we could see a beautiful deer and bird sanctuary on the left side of the road.

On the opposite side of the road, there was ashram. As we crossed the gate, we could see small huts where saints were sitting. It is believed that this is the place where Lord Shri Krishna used to play with cowherd friends in his childhood days. The word “Raman” means play and “Reti” means sand. This place is 10 KM from Vrindavan and is abode of many saints. There are number of small huts for the saints.

At Raman Reti, there is a tradition of rolling on the fine sand which was interesting. There is a small temple and a cowshed, sheltering large number of cows.

Chourasi Khamba temple Gokul

From Raman Reti, we went to Chourasi Khamba temple of Gokul. The word “Chourasi” means 84 and “Khamba” means pillar. The place is believed to be the house of Lord Shri Krishna’s foster father Nanda after whom, the place is also known as Nand Bhavan.

The exquisite carving on the stone pillars enhances beauty of the place. The entire structure including the pillars and roof are made of stone and are quite old. There is a small temple inside, where idol of baby Krishna is kept on a swing. Devotees are asked to walk on knees like a baby to feel the childhood of the Lord.

The wall painting shows the favourite pastime of the Lord. In the courtyard of the temple, there is a huge banyan tree. Devotees tie holy thread for the fulfilment of their wishes. Under the banyan tree, there is a temple of Goddess Kali.

Reaching Raval from Gokul

From Chourasi Khamba, we went to Raval which is a small village in the Mathura district, just 7.5KM from Gokul. It is believed that Srimati Radharani was born in this village. There is a popular belief that baby Radharani was found floating on a lotus in the Yamuna river.

There is a small white marble temple with a deity of little Radharani sitting on knees. This is a place of ultimate peace.

It was already noon, and we returned to Vrindavan which is 21 KM from Raval. By 4PM, we finished our lunch at hotel and left for Prem Mandir.

An evening at Prem Mandir Vrindavan

Prem Mandir was created and maintained by Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat. It was quite close to ISKCON Mandir and was in walking distance from our hotel. This beautiful temple was opened for public in 2012. This temple complex stretches over 55acre land. It has a beautiful garden, fountains and number of life size structure depicting leelas from Shri Krishna’s life. The four main leelas portrayed here are Govardhan leela, Raas leela, Jhulam leela and Kaliya Naag leela.

The temple is made of white Italian marble and is very picturesque. It is good to visit this place in the evening because of exquisite lighting. Colour changing lights reflect on the temple. Inside the temple, there are deity of Shri Radha Govind and Shri Sita Ram. I cannot share photos as photography is prohibited inside the main temple.

But I cannot go without sharing the pictures captured from outside the temple. This place attracts children very much.

On the outer wall of the temple, the entire childhood stories of Lord Shri Krishna are sculptured and are lit by colourful light.

It is best to visit in the late afternoon to experience the evening lighting. The next day was planned for visiting Shri Krishna Janambhumi temple in Mathura and also some of the temples in and around Vrindavan. We were very tired, and we slept early to have another unique experience the very next day.